shattered but not broken
by TheGreatAnimeFan
Summary: An AU fic that takes place after the final episode "sayonara, adios, goodbye Bradley." What if Bradley really had moved away leaving Stacy to a life without her best friend.


Life for Stacy Stickler stank worse than Russell.

Well to be more precise its more like life just wasn't the same. Not since her entire world shattered on THAT day seven years ago.

It had been a relatively normal day, or as normal can get for the duo of Stacy and Bradley. Still nothing either of them would complain about. Being together always made them feel as though the world was open and perfect. Sure there were bumpy times and the occasional super atomic wedgie from Lance. Still it was nothing that couldn't be fixed with a Mr. Fizzy, a bag of Cheese Poopers, and your best friend by your side.

For Stacy she thought it would always last forever. That there was absolutely nothing that could tear her and Bradley apart. Even when their classmates had teased them about being all lovey dovey she had learned first hand what a life without her B-man would result in. Even after things got resolved when she and Bradley had glanced at each other; they could both tell by the look in the others eyes that it was an experience they never wanted to go through again, which caused them to instinctively grab each others hand. As they squeezed each others hand reassuringly the two nine year olds broke out into a smile knowing that everything was now okay with the world once again.

Which made it even more devastating for Stacy when Bradley broke the news to her.

His family was moving out of the apartments, and it wasn't just across the street or across town. They were moving across the country. It was like her heart shattered into pieces. Of course she and Bradley had tried to stop it using every scheme in their arsenal, but in the end the inevitability of Bradley leaving her set in causing the two to end up in a shouting match. After that was the usual cliche for these types of situations. Harsh things were said causing the two to stop talking to each other. By the time Stacy came to her senses and tried to patch things up with the only person who ever understood her, she had arrived only to see the car carrying Bradley away speeding off down the street. Of course she also tried to chase it down, but her dilapidated bike had no chance against that kind of horse power. In the end all she could do was watch the car until it sped out of sight. Bradley not turning around once to see her.

After that she had stayed in her room for weeks. Leaving her room only when she had school. Melody, Polly, heck even that annoying Dil asked if she was okay from time to time, and if there was anything they could do. What did they know? It's not like they could possibly understand her right now. Nobody could fill the gigantic black hole inside her. Nothing could.

From then on to the outside world she still seemed like the same bossy, mature, intelligent, orange dress wearing, long spiky black haired girl that she had always been. It was only those people who knew her best that could see the difference. It was no shock that her parents and even the other kids were worried about her since they could see the clear changes in her behavior ever since Bradley left. She barely ate, refused to hang out with anyone, and stayed isolated in her room unless she had to eat, go to school, or use the bathroom. The energy of her bright smile and the glow of not only her personality, but of her lightly tanned skin had vanished as well. Over time she had changed a lot to the point that her skin was now a pasty white and she had become extremely thin to the point that one might claim she was anorexic. She no longer smiled and felt nothing but bitterness, depression, and a huge gaping emptiness that did nothing but suck all the energy out of her. After all there was nothing to be happy about.

Eventually almost all the kids gave up on her and moved on. Even Lance and Russell left her alone claiming that she was too much of a bummer to even approach anymore. She was fine with that. To be honest she kinda wished all of them would just leave her alone. In the end the only one who really stuck around was Polly but that was because she was trying to psycho analyze her. Not that it would work since its not like the girl who believed her dead dog to still be alive would be able to tell her something she didn't already know.

The worst part was that there wasn't even a way to contact Bradley anymore. She had begged her parents for something, anything, but Bradley hadn't even left her a forwarding address or even a phone number. Shattering her even more until she was just a shell of the old Stacy Stickler that could do anything and everything.

Years passed as we arrive back to the present and Stacy looked no different. Same pasty skin, same extremely thin frame, same spiky hair, and orange dress as well as dull eyes that had long since lost their light. With the last of her spirit fading away she seemed to no longer care about anything or anyone. Having succumbed to the dark emptiness long ago there was nothing left that would remind someone of what her nine year old self had been. Why would there be anyways? Nothing was the same as when she was nine. Bradley had been not only her best friend but the most important person in her entire world. He wasn't just a partner but the ultimate partner, and the person she loved more than even her parents. There was no one in the universe who could take her B-man's place.

Her thoughts drifted to him constantly. What was he doing now? Was he happy? Did he even miss her? Only for reality to hit her hard when she came to the conclusion that he probably already forgot about her. Sure maybe he wasn't replaceable to her, but maybe he felt she was easily replaced. All memory of her erased from his mind. He probably had loads of friends now. Maybe even a girlfriend.

She shook her head violently as a little bit of the fire her old self emitted burst out only for it to be extinguished as fast as it had appeared. She didn't want to think like that, but there was no other possible conclusion right? This wasn't TV or the movies. There are no happily ever afters in the real world. The same real world being something she didn't want to face. Heck the only reason she was even outside right now was because her parents forced her. Her mom and dad in a rare show of cooperation had succeeded in storming her room, and tossing her out the door. Telling her they wouldn't let her back in until sunset. She of course was furious but even she knew parents just don't understand.

Life just wasn't the same anymore.

Life for Stacy Stickler stank worse than Russell.

So here she was walking around looking like a total zombie. If Bradley were here he'd have probably said something inappropriate due to his inflated sense of machismo. This brought her thoughts back to Bradley. What was he doing now? If only he was here. She missed him so much.

"Hey Stace!"

Sometimes she felt like she could still hear his voice.

"Yo Stace!"

But it wasn't HIS voice she told herself. This one sounded much deeper and it was coming from directly behind her. Obviously it was just someone from school. Best to ignore them and maybe they'll go away.

"Aw c'mon Stace. Why you gotta be like that?"

Her irritation by now had peaked as she roughly turned around to see who the bonehead was that didn't get the message the first time. What she saw almost floored her. The person looked like an older version of Bradley. Same red hat, same large black glasses, even the clothes were the same. This Bradley was different though since her B-man had been a scrawny lightweight, however, this one was a little more buff. It was really the only thing that struck her as odd.

"Great not only am I hearing voices but now I'm starting to see things too. Maybe Polly was right about me being mentally unbalanced." Stacy mumbled turning back around as she continued to walk down the sidewalk, and through the entrance of the park where she and Bradley had played back when life was worth living.

"Woah... What happened to you Stacy?" The concerned voice of the Bradley imposter sounded from behind her again.

"Just ignore it and it'll go away." She kept quietly chanting to herself while walking a bit faster. Occasionally looking over her shoulder to see the fake B-man still following her.

"Come on Stace. Can't you tell me what's wrong? I mean you look like you got abducted by aliens... Aliens from!"

At this point she just gave up and plopped down on a park bench before lifting her gaze to meet the one coming from her hallucination. Maybe if she humored it; it would just leave her in peace.

"Don't say it." Stacy said in the most stern voice she could muster.

"URANUS!" The delusion exclaimed and laughed a bit before leaning against the back of the park bench. His arms folded and resting on top of the bench.

For Stacy the feeling of whatever this was being so close to her was beginning to really freak her out.

"You know for a hallucination you sure are stubborn and just as insensitive. Real mature by the way fake B-man." She instinctively hit the imaginary Bradley in the shoulder only for it to feel a bit more real than what she had imagined.

"What do you mean hallucination? I'm the real deal!" Bradley exclaimed as he threw his arms up in the air before cupping her chin and forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Does this seem like something your egghead could cook up?"

As she looked into Bradley's eyes for the first time in seven years she felt as if the dark emptiness was disappearing. As if an overpowering light exploded inside of her and was filling her completely.

"Is it... Is it really you?" She desperately asked.

"The one and only." Bradley grinned back and nodded.

That was all she needed to hear.

Bradley was dazed and quite confused as he lay on his back on the dry grass of the playground. He looked up at the clear blue sky then back down at the loudly sobbing girl who had just tackled him a second earlier, and was now clinging to him like a vice. This didn't seem like the same Stacy he knew at all. In fact this seemed like the exact opposite of the strong-willed, ultra confident Stacy who made the whole world seem bright and beautiful with just a smile, and whom he held strong feelings for. Even if he didn't understand what those feelings were exactly.

He was starting to feel more convinced that maybe she had been abducted by aliens from Uranus, but decided against saying anything. Maybe its because he was older now or maybe its because he understood her. No one could ever have replaced Stacy, or maybe it would be more appropriate to say that no one ever did. Life hadn't been kind to him either since without his best friend by his side and his inability to really fit in at his new school he had been pretty lonely. Though Bradley was never one to give up. Being stubborn and egotistical had its merits after all. Even so Bradley did have his downs and during these times the thing he wanted to do most of all was call Stacy, but in the end he found he couldn't. Not just because his parents would freak if he made a long distance call like that, but also after the fight they had he figured she never wanted to talk to him ever again. He never once imagined that when they reunited she would be burying her head into his chest as she gripped him tighter. Large crocodile tears staining his shirt as her sobs became louder as if she was letting out seven years of pent up emotions all at once.

Slowly Bradley wrapped his arms around Stacy and held her softly making sure not to move an inch until eventually she stopped sobbing long enough to look up into his eyes.

"Are you back? Are you really back?" she asked through choked sobs. Her voice cracking as her tear-filled, bloodshot eyes met with his. Her tone of voice desperately pleading and begging that this was real and not just a dream that would destroy her even more.

He looked down into those eyes of hers. Even though she was just crying they still looked as beautiful as they always had. He smiled and hugged her gently.

"Yeah Stace... I'm back. This time for good."

**THE END **


End file.
